[Book review] Philip E. Agre and Stanley J. Rosenschein (eds), Computational Theories of Interaction and Agency

Review of: Philip E. Agre and Stanley J. Rosenschein (eds), Computational Theories of Interaction and Agency, MIT Press (1996), ISBN: 978-0262510905

[Book review] Psychology and Law: Truthfulness, Accuracy and Credibility

Review of: Psychology and law : truthfulness, accuracy and credibility by Amina Memon, Aldert Vrij and Ray Bull. London: McGraw-Hill, 1998.

Duty to mitigate in leasehold law

Discusses by reference to case law, including Commonwealth authorities, the rights and duties of landlords where demised premises are abandoned by a tenant who has defaulted on the rent, including the remedies available to the landlord, the limitations on his right to sue for loss of rent due between abandonment and expiration of the term, and the applicability of the contractual doctrine of mitigation of damages in leasehold law. Examines the Court of Appeal decision in Reichman v Beveridge on the duty of mitigate loss in an action merely seeking recovery of rent as it accrues due.

Termination of tenancies for tenant default: Law Commission's draft Bill

Reviews key proposals of a draft Bill set out in Command Paper: The Law Commission: Termination of Tenancies for Tenant Default (Cm.6946), aimed at replacing the existing law on forfeiture of tenancies. Summarises the main elements of the proposed termination action by landlords, the events justifying such an action, the time limits for serving default notices, the revised range of court orders available and the considerations influencing which type of order to make. Examines the position of qualifying interest holders and the circumstances in which summary termination notices are prohibited.

Personal and proprietary tenancies

Examines the Chancery Division ruling in London Development Agency v Nidai on whether a number of agreements providing for the construction of a bridge and shop premises on the retaining walls of a river resulted in a binding legal lease or a series of bare licences. Comments on the failure of the judgment to mention the House of Lords ruling in Bruton v London & Quadrant Housing Trust and discusses whether a Bruton tenancy is capable of binding third parties.

Legal method and legal reflection: experiential learning in the law school

The two main themes of the conference centre around teaching experiences in legal education and theme and international and European perspectives in legal education.

The Fraud Act 2006: some early observations and comparisons with the former law

Provides a detailed analysis of the Fraud Act 2006 provisions on the offence of fraud by false representation (s.2) and the offence of obtaining services dishonestly (s.11) and assesses the extent to which they address problems arising in connection with the former deception offences under the Theft Acts 1968 and 1978. [From Legal Journals Index]

Sole agency vs multi-agency: An investigation of agency practice across England and Wales

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of different agency practice on agency fees, business efficiency, and housing market liquidity. Design/methodology/approach: The paper studies the effect of sole and multiple agency practices on estate agent efficiency, housing market liquidity, and commission fee levels. The analysis uses the survey data from 2000 to 2006 to investigate the different agency practices across England and Wales and their effect on estate agency business efficiency, housing market liquidity, selling price, and fee levels. Findings: The empirical analysis confirms that agency practice has a locality bias, that is, some regions are more likely to adopt sole agency practice than other regions. The estate agents with a sole agency practice charge a lower agency fee, help clients to achieve better selling price and are more efficient; whereas multiple agency practice facilitates liquidity in the housing market, but experiences higher fall-through rate. Research limitations/implications: The research focuses on estate agent rather than consumers due to the limitation of the data based on a research project concerning transaction costs designed prior to this analysis. Originality/value: There is little other research that investigates the residential estate agency practice and its impact on housing market in the past three decades in England and Wales. The findings are a useful guide for practitioners to better understand the issues associated with different agency practices and should enhance business efficiency and performance.

When deterrence works - and when it doesn't: a comparison of Sweden's prostitution law and UK's Dangerous Dogs Act

Many pieces of legislation have been implemented with the anticipation - or justification - that they will have a deterrent effect. Deterrence was clearly argued in the debate preceding the Swedish prostitution law prohibiting the purchase of sexual services, but less so regarding the Dangerous Dogs Act, which was a very rapid response to a particular moral panic. As it turned out, the Swedish law has had a deterrent effect on street prostitution in that 'respectable' buyers were deterred. It will be argued that it is this very 'respectability' that makes deterrence work in this case. Regarding the Dangerous Dogs Act, the owners of Pit Bulls and other banned breeds are not considered 'respectable' and the banning might have had the reversed effect - increasing the attraction of these dogs, rather than deterring the ownership. Apart from deterrence and its consequences, the rendering invisible of key actors - buyers and owners respectively - and the use of symbolic legislation to promote moral messages will also be considered. [From the Author]

Law in the community: the University of Greenwich/Greenwich Association of Disabled People Centre for Independent Living (GAD) research project

The GAD Advocacy Service is funded by the London Borough of Greenwich Directorate of Neighbourhood Services; its remit to support disabled people experiencing Hate Crime, Domestic Violence and Harassment. Run by disabled personnel and giving advice to all disabled people it is unique in London. Since its inception in 2004, the Advocacy Service has been stretched to its limit - there is a need to extend the remit of the Advocacy Service to give specialist legal advice on other issues. In 2003, the CEDRM-UK project was set up in the University of Greenwich Law Department as part of the Disability Rights Promotion International Legal Education and Research Project; its objectives were firstly, to facilitate the collection of data on the effectiveness of legislation in promoting the rights of disabled persons; and secondly, to pilot new methods in teaching and training in Human Rights Law – students acquire an expertise in Human Rights Law through research into the practical application of legislation relating to civil and human rights in the daily life of the community. In July 2007, GAD and CEDRM-UK embarked on a joint project to report on the work of the Advocacy Service and to create a database to support its caseload. The 2008-9 Project team will report on their work and findings relating to facilitating equality in the workplace; the inclusion of cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis within the legal definition of disability and the implications of the statutory duty to promote disability equality for the provision of extracurricular activities for schoolchildren. [From the Author]

The determinants of business performance of estate agency in England and Wales

Purpose: This paper seeks to investigate the factors influencing the business performance of estate agency in England and Wales. Design/methodology/approach: The paper investigates the effect of housing market, company size and pricing policy on business performance in the estate agency sector in England and Wales. The analysis uses the survey data of Woolwich Cost of Moving Survey (a survey of transactions costs sponsored by the Woolwich/Barclays Bank) from 2003 to 2005 to test the hypothesis that the business performance of estate agency is affected by industry characteristics and firm factors. Findings: The empirical analysis indicates that the business performance of estate agency is subject to market environment volatility such as market uncertainty, housing market liquidity and house price changes. The firm factors such as firm size and the level of agency fee have no explanatory power in explaining business performance. The level of agency fee is positively associated with firm size, market environment and liquidity. Research limitations/implications: The research is limited to the data received and is based on a research project on transaction costs designed prior to this analysis. Originality/value: There is little other research that investigates the factors determining the business performance of estate agency, using consecutive data of three years across England and Wales. The findings are useful for practitioners and/or managers to allocate resources and adjust their business strategy to enhance business performance in the estate agency sector.